[brewmasternpb]

Hey gang,
I want to make a beer that, for all intents and purposes, comes from a wit recipe but uses a slightly different yeast.  I want to use either WLP550 (Belgian ale) or WLP575 (Belgian Ale Blend) and not the usual Wit yeast.  I know that, by foregoing the Wit yeast(s), I am not going to get a beer that is exactly a wit.  I'm ok with this, as I probably won't enter it into a competition, I just don't want to make something awful. 
I usually think that you can combine any wort with any yeast, as long as fermentation, temperature and sanitation are good, and you'll have drinkable beer.  However, I have heard that Wits need that yeast to be good, because of the unmalted wheat.... I've settled that though, and am not using unmalted wheat.  I amusing Pilsner malt, white wheat and Oats (golden naked and flaked).
The reason I don't want to use the wit yeast is because I reuse yeast, and I want to do other styles later on, and the Wit yeast isn't great for the styles I want to do.
Any experience here, or knowledge related to the above mentioned yeast strains will be greatly appreciated.

[reverseapachemaster]

It will be fine. You won't get the clove character as much by using 550 or 575 and it will be fruitier.

Personally I'm not a huge fan of 575 so I would rather use 550 but that's just me.

[brewmasternpb]

Good call. I've been brewing a long time, but have never used any "normal" Belgian strains... I've used the Wit, Saison, American Farmhouse blend and the Unibroue strain, so I will probably start with 550.

[Joe Sr.]

You get lots of character from Belgian yeasts, so you might be missing a bit of what you'd expect in a wit, but IMO if you keep the % of wheat appropriate and add coriander and orange peel you'll be getting pretty much what you're hoping for.

I've not used 575, but I make a lot of beers with WY3522 (same strain as 550).  IME, it's great for the paler Belgians but it has almost a tartness that may not be what you're looking for in wit.

[denny]

re you trying to make a beer that tastes like a wit?  Have you considered making another Belgian style that might be more appropriate for the yeast?

[kylekohlmorgen]

You get lots of character from Belgian yeasts, so you might be missing a bit of what you'd expect in a wit, but IMO if you keep the % of wheat appropriate and add coriander and orange peel you'll be getting pretty much what you're hoping for.

I've not used 575, but I make a lot of beers with WY3522 (same strain as 550).  IME, it's great for the paler Belgians but it has almost a tartness that may not be what you're looking for in wit.

+1

This is what Ommegang does for Witte (they use their house yeast), and its listed as a commercial example in the BJCP guidelines.

[gmac]

re you trying to make a beer that tastes like a wit?  Have you considered making another Belgian style that might be more appropriate for the yeast?

+1

[a10t2]

The Unibroue strain would be a good choice, IMHO. It's pretty phenolic.

[kylekohlmorgen]

The Unibroue strain would be a good choice, IMHO. It's pretty phenolic.

I LOVE this strain. Is it still a Wyeast PC or do they carry it regularly (its not listed on the website)?

[a10t2]

I LOVE this strain. Is it still a Wyeast PC or do they carry it regularly (its not listed on the website)?

I'm not sure what Wyeast's plans are for it, but it's a really easy one to culture up from a bottle.

[kylekohlmorgen]

I LOVE this strain. Is it still a Wyeast PC or do they carry it regularly (its not listed on the website)?

I'm not sure what Wyeast's plans are for it, but it's a really easy one to culture up from a bottle.

Good point - and good excuse to pick up their sampler four-pack that Trader Joe's is carrying...

[Joe Sr.]

The Unibroue strain would be a good choice, IMHO. It's pretty phenolic.

I was going to suggest this earlier but it wasn't on his list of yeasts he wanted to use.  I'd do the Unibroue strain over 550 or 575.

[brewmasternpb]

re you trying to make a beer that tastes like a wit?  Have you considered making another Belgian style that might be more appropriate for the yeast?

Yes, which was how I got started with this post anyway.  I originally just wanted to to do a summer beer with wheat and oats.  When I created the recipe, it looked an awful lot like a wit, so I went from there.  The next beers I do with this yeast will be a Belgian Blonde, a dubbel and a Trippel.  Since those were to be to style, I'm ok with this one being out of style.

[brewmasternpb]

Honestly, I may go without the spices, so as to separate it from a wit...

[kylekohlmorgen]

Honestly, I may go without the spices, so as to separate it from a wit...

If you're not brewing for competition, and you don't care to put the spices in, don't!

My favorite part of brewing a summer beer with Belgian yeast is harvesting for a nice Tripel/BDS that will be ready in the fall.